The present invention relates to compositions and processes for applying random and non-random multicolor patterns on a variety of flat and irregular surfaces such as are represented by woven and non-woven textile materials, paper products, wood and metal articles, and the like. The following disclosure is described more specifically with respect to the dyeing of carpets and other textile materials.
The application of multicolor effects on textile materials is an important aspect of textile styling techniques. Among the known methods of achieving multicolor effects on textile materials are those involving direct printing, resist printing and discharge printing procedures.
In a direct printing method, one or more flexible dyestuff pastes are printed on flat textiles. In a discharge printing method, dyestuff pastes containing reducing or oxidizing agents are applied to pre-dyed textile material. The bottom dyeing is destroyed with a subsequent thermal treatment. Color effects are obtained when the printing pastes also contain fixable dyestuffs which are resistant to the discharge agents. In a resist printing method, the fixation of a pre-padded or cross-padded dyestuff is prevented by printing resist agents which function by means of a chemical or mechanical action. The color effects are obtained by including dyestuffs which are fixable in the presence of a resist agent.
Other known methods for producing multicolor effects include those involving dropwise application of dye solutions, and application by means of spraying, foaming, and the like, followed by a thermal fixation step. Such methods have particular application for obtaining randomly distributed multicolor effects in the dyeing of pile-fiber textiles such as carpets.
There are several disadvantages characteristic of the known methods of achieving sharply defined multicolor print effects or patterns of randomly dispersed dyestuffs. Uncontrolled colorant migration and blending causes variations in shading which detract from the appearance of the textile material. Further, the migration of colorant serves to limit the range of multicolor effects which can be achieved, and concomitantly there is a low color yield and an increased requirement of expensive dyestuffs.
One of the means developed to reduce the colorant migration problem is the incorporation of an antimigration agent in a dyestuff solution. Among the antimigrating agents known in the prior art are natural gums; poly(vinyl methyl ether/maleic anhydride) derivatives as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,427; melamine formaldehyde and urea formaldehyde resins as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,522; Kelgin RL (Kelco Co.); Superclear 100N (Diamond Shamrock); and the like.
The use of antimigration agents has found restricted application in the textile dyeing industry. Some agents merely increase the viscosity of a colorant medium without controlling dyestuff migration significantly. Other agents tend to coagulate dyestuff values and reduce color yield. Also, the selection of the quantity of antimigration agent to be employed can be critical, and consequently the control of colorant medium viscosity is difficult.
Accordingly, it is a main object of this invention to provide a process for achieving attractive multicolor effects on textile materials with improved sharpness, uniformity and color yield.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved process for applying sharply delineated color patterns on flat or textured or fiber-pile textile materials substantially without dyestuff migration.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an aqueous colorant vehicle adapted for applying a multicolor coating on the surface of textile, paper, wood, plastic, metal, glass, and similar substrate materials.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention shall become apparent from the accompanying description and examples.